Occurrence of squalene in skin surface lipids of the otter, the beaver and the kinkajou

Abstract

In a previous survey of the skin surface lipids of 46 mammalian species, it was found that only 3, the otter, the beaver and the kinkajou, contained components with chromatographic mobility similar to squalene, and in each case, this material was the predominant constituent. The materials in question have now been isolated from each of these species and identified as squalene by thin layer chromatography, gas chromatography and infrared spectroscopy. The occurrence of squalene in the surface lipids of these particular species cannot be explained on the basis of either their evolutionary relationship or ecological niche.